The need for a utility belt which supports one or more tools, implements, utensils or the like from the waist of a user has been recognized for some time. As a result of this need, utility belts have been designed specifically for policemen, soldiers, carpenters and other specialized trades persons.
A policeman's belt generally comprises a leather belt having a conventional buckle. A handgun holster, handcuff pouch, night stick and other devices are typically attached to the belt by means of a loop on the back of each of these devices through which the belt is threaded. Utility belts of this type are flexible in a vertical plane and are therefore comfortable. However, belts of this type are not well suited for carrying heavy tools.
A conventional soldier's belt comprises a cotton belt having a plurality of grommets therethrough arranged in vertical pairs. A pronged device is then used to pivotally attach canteens and other implements to the grommets in the belt. This design offers superior mobility to the soldier because the implements can swing in a vertical plane from the waist of the soldier, thus facilitating easy striding and bending motions. However, this belt cannot comfortably support a substantial amount of weight from the waist of the soldier without discomfort because the belt itself does not have substantial rigidity in a vertical direction.
Carpenter's aprons (structurally more similar to a belt than a conventional apron) are available which provide a plurality of leather loops connected to an underlying leather belt by rivets. The loops can receive a variety of tools such as hammers, screw drivers, and the like. Open-ended pouches are often riveted on to the underlying belt to serve as a receptacle for nails. Although the carpenter's belt can support substantial weight from the waist of a user because the underlying leather belt has some vertical rigidity, this design tends to restrict the motion of the wearer and is not usually adaptable to receive implements other than conventional carpenter and framing tools. Stated another way, this design is typically implement specific.
None of the above designs adequately combine the ability to support heavy loads from the waist of a user comfortably while providing a full range of bending motions for the user. Presently available designs are limited in this respect principally because vertical rigidity (which permits substantial loads to be carried by the user) generally results in an uncomfortable belt. Certain padded belts are available on external frame backpacks which address this problem by providing heavy padding in the hip area. However, the backpack hip belt itself is substantially flexible vertically and is only able to support substantial weight on the hips of a user because an external frame (the backpack frame) is attached to the belt. Thus, such a belt would not be well adapted for use as a utility belt.
Therefore, a need exists for a utility belt which can support substantial weight from the waist of a user comfortably and which does not impede striding and bending motions. Furthermore, a need exists for a utility belt which is readily adaptable to support a variety of different tools, utensils, and implements and which is not utensil specific.